The Los Angeles Lakers are not expected to be very good next season. Despite the new coaching staff, the Lakers’ youth and inexperience will still lead to plenty of losses.
Nevertheless, most fans expect some sizable growth next year. The development of the youth in addition to some added vets should lead to some more winning after a 17-win season.
That may be more difficult than expected, however. The Lakers will have the hardest schedule in the league as calculated by last year’s records.
The following was calculated by Jared Dubin of Hardwood Paroxysm.
This should not be too much of a surprise. As part of the Pacific Division, the Lakers will play four games against the Warriors who went 73-9 last season. They will also have four games against the 55-win Clippers. No other division had two 55+ win teams last year.
The Lakers will have an especially difficult schedule early in the season, highlighted by three matchups against the Warriors in November.
Obviously this does not mean a whole lot relative to next season. However, it’s unlikely that either the Warriors or Clippers take a step back from the 2015-16 campaigns. This could be another long season for the Lakers even with the natural growth of the team.
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